6 answers
Anya
Student
Columbia, Missouri
1
Question
Asked
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As a high schooler, how do I advertise and find students to teach piano?
I am a 16 year old junior in high school, and I am hoping to gain experience teaching private piano lessons. I have been playing piano since I was 4 years old, and feel that I am at a high enough level that I can teach students to a proficient level. I am going to major in music performance in college, so getting into teaching music would be useful for my future.
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6 answers
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1666
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Building off of Michelle's response:
I would target the schools and neighborhoods near your home. If you cannot advertise on a school site of some sort, look to social media - FB and Nextdoor. Search to see if there are musician groups in your area, and join their pages. Also go to the churches. They usually have advertising in their bulletins. While putting flyers everywhere you can might work, ideally you would find a way to reach your target audience without reaching too many others! Printing is expensive!
Can you talk to the music teachers at the schools? Go to the store that sells and rents musical instruments? Even if they don't sell pianos, they could still give you some referrals. If you can be at the schools when classes get out, look for the people carrying instruments and give them flyers. Or, go to where the cars line up and just walk the line, talking to the drivers, seeing if you find anyone who is interested.
Talk to the local piano tuner! They also might be of help.
Also, you will want to think about your billing, how you want to be paid, etc. When I ran a small at home business, I used software from Freshbooks, which is very affordable. And professional. Keep track of your expenses (which can be done on Freshbooks as well). Basically, this lets you invoice your clients electronically, and accept electronic payments.
As a business, you will likely need to report this income on a tax return. Again, not that difficult, but, you will definitely want to be able to minimize the income by offsetting it with expenses. When setting your hourly rate, find out what everyone else is charging. Don't go too much below them - if you're price is too low you may not be taken seriously!
Best of luck!!
I would target the schools and neighborhoods near your home. If you cannot advertise on a school site of some sort, look to social media - FB and Nextdoor. Search to see if there are musician groups in your area, and join their pages. Also go to the churches. They usually have advertising in their bulletins. While putting flyers everywhere you can might work, ideally you would find a way to reach your target audience without reaching too many others! Printing is expensive!
Can you talk to the music teachers at the schools? Go to the store that sells and rents musical instruments? Even if they don't sell pianos, they could still give you some referrals. If you can be at the schools when classes get out, look for the people carrying instruments and give them flyers. Or, go to where the cars line up and just walk the line, talking to the drivers, seeing if you find anyone who is interested.
Talk to the local piano tuner! They also might be of help.
Also, you will want to think about your billing, how you want to be paid, etc. When I ran a small at home business, I used software from Freshbooks, which is very affordable. And professional. Keep track of your expenses (which can be done on Freshbooks as well). Basically, this lets you invoice your clients electronically, and accept electronic payments.
As a business, you will likely need to report this income on a tax return. Again, not that difficult, but, you will definitely want to be able to minimize the income by offsetting it with expenses. When setting your hourly rate, find out what everyone else is charging. Don't go too much below them - if you're price is too low you may not be taken seriously!
Best of luck!!
Michelle M.
Entertainment Industry
1180
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Anya !
I am very impressed with your talent and your ambition to take your talent to the next level professionally !
Since you are in high school and you want to more or less begin a freelance business, I hope that I can give you some advice on how to let your community know about it so that you can get students to teach. My first thought on the best way to advertise would be through free classified ads. Free because you probably do not have the budget to pay for advertising. Locanto has an opportunity to place your ad locally. The link is provided below.
Geebo is another site on which you can place a free ad. The link is provided below as is a link to Oodle. You can also try the link below to Sulekha as well. I am sure there are many more ways to place a free ad as well. You can do a search on line and come up with more.
Another way to get the word out there with no or minimal cost to you is a flyer campaign. Create a flyer saying that you teach piano and make as many copies of it as you can. Than call a friend and go together to post the flyers all around town. Put as many of these flyers up everywhere you can. There are many free flyer templates on line and I have left the link to one for you below called Free Pik. So, it's not so much money, rather it is time that you will have to spend creating the first step to gaining students. Once you advertise and have covered a lot of territory with your flyer, the calls may start coming in.
Teaching music will be a great boost to your resume and college applications, too ! It will show that you are directly working in your chosen field and actively participating in it and have the professional and organizational skills to advance further. I wish you all the best and I also wish you lots of fun and enjoyment with teaching !
LOCANTO FREE ADS https://www.locanto.com/columbusoh/
GEEBO FREE ADS https://columbus-oh.geebo.com/
OODLE ADS https://www.oodle.com/browse/-/-/usa:oh:columbus/+50/?q=Columbus+OH&oldq=Columbus%2C+OH&inbs=1&query=Columbus%2C+OH
SULEKHA ADS http://us.classifieds.sulekha.com/columbus-ohhttp://us.classifieds.sulekha.com/columbus-oh
FREE PIK https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/flyer-template
I am very impressed with your talent and your ambition to take your talent to the next level professionally !
Since you are in high school and you want to more or less begin a freelance business, I hope that I can give you some advice on how to let your community know about it so that you can get students to teach. My first thought on the best way to advertise would be through free classified ads. Free because you probably do not have the budget to pay for advertising. Locanto has an opportunity to place your ad locally. The link is provided below.
Geebo is another site on which you can place a free ad. The link is provided below as is a link to Oodle. You can also try the link below to Sulekha as well. I am sure there are many more ways to place a free ad as well. You can do a search on line and come up with more.
Another way to get the word out there with no or minimal cost to you is a flyer campaign. Create a flyer saying that you teach piano and make as many copies of it as you can. Than call a friend and go together to post the flyers all around town. Put as many of these flyers up everywhere you can. There are many free flyer templates on line and I have left the link to one for you below called Free Pik. So, it's not so much money, rather it is time that you will have to spend creating the first step to gaining students. Once you advertise and have covered a lot of territory with your flyer, the calls may start coming in.
Teaching music will be a great boost to your resume and college applications, too ! It will show that you are directly working in your chosen field and actively participating in it and have the professional and organizational skills to advance further. I wish you all the best and I also wish you lots of fun and enjoyment with teaching !
Michelle recommends the following next steps:
Deborah Ogundepo
Researcher
73
Answers
Nigeria
Updated
Deborah’s Answer
That's fantastic that you're looking to share your passion for piano! To advertise and find students for teaching piano, consider starting within your local community. You could create flyers or posters to put up in music stores, schools, community centers, or libraries. Additionally, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or even local community groups can be great places to spread the word. Offering a free introductory lesson or hosting a small recital can also attract potential students. Networking with friends, family, and music teachers could help connect you with interested students. Lastly, consider creating a simple website or online profile highlighting your experience and teaching approach to reach a broader audience. Good luck with your teaching endeavors!
Katherine Avery
Run a music studio and teach private music lessons; teach college-level religion classes
222
Answers
Spanish Fork, Utah
Updated
Katherine’s Answer
Your situation is exactly what mine was when I was 16! I'd recommend creating profiles on Lessons dot com and Thumbtack (they operate kind of similarly but there are differences) and start getting leads sent to your phone or email, and then you can decide whether to pursue those leads.
Charly Rodriguez
DJ/producer
45
Answers
Miami, Florida
Updated
Charly’s Answer
Hi good morning! In my personal opinion the best way to advirtise your self is organically people say good and positive thing about you and your teaching skills. Keep learning and learning, share your knowledge and do it with love, because i guess that you love what you do.
Rian Alam
Student
136
Answers
Seattle, Washington
Updated
Rian’s Answer
Hi Anya,
One thing I would recommend is posting in facebook groups! Often times, for your school or middle/elementary schools near you, they have a parents facebook group which you can post to. Another idea is once you get a few clients, offer them renumeration for referring new clients to you. That way they have an incentive to help refer new people to you while also gaining something out of it. A true win-win!
One thing I would recommend is posting in facebook groups! Often times, for your school or middle/elementary schools near you, they have a parents facebook group which you can post to. Another idea is once you get a few clients, offer them renumeration for referring new clients to you. That way they have an incentive to help refer new people to you while also gaining something out of it. A true win-win!